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reetings from Australia. 

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Pip Wilson

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Today is

Any institution which does not suppose the people good, and the magistrate corruptible, is evil.
Maximilien Robespierre; Déclaration des Droits de l'homme

The most extravagant idea that can be born in the head of a political thinker is to believe that it suffices for people to enter, weapons in hand, among a foreign people and expect to have its laws and constitution embraced. No one loves armed missionaries; the first lesson of nature and prudence is to repulse them as enemies.
Maximilien Robespierre; from 'Sur la guerre (1ère intervention)', speech to the Jacobin Club, January 2, 1792

By sealing our work with our blood, we may see at least the bright dawn of universal happiness.
Maximilien Robespierre; from a speech to the National Convention, February 5, 1794

Death is the beginning of immortality.
Maximilien Robespierre; from his last speech to the National Convention, July 26, 1794 

The great question, which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is "What does a woman want?"
Sigmund Freud, born on May 6, 1856

I am actually not at all a man of science, not an observer, not an experimenter, not a thinker. I am by temperament nothing but a conquistador – an adventurer, if you want it translated – with all the curiosity, daring, and tenacity characteristic of a man of this sort.
Sigmund Freud; letter to Wilhelm Fliess, February 1, 1900

Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939) is considered the father of psychoanalysis, which may be the granddaddy of all pseudoscientific psychotherapies, second only to Scientology as the champion purveyor of false and misleading claims about the mind, mental health, and mental illness.
The Skeptic's Dictionary

I leave this world without a regret.
Last words of Henry David Thoreau, American author and naturalist, who died on this day in 1862. (One source says his last words were very different, namely, "Moose. Indian.")

I started at the top and worked my way down.
Orson Welles, American actor and director, born on May 6, 1915

Even if the good old days never existed, the fact that we can conceive such a world is, in fact, an affirmation of the human spirit.
Orson Welles

I'm not very fond of movies. I don't go to them much.
Orson Welles

I'm not bitter about Hollywood's treatment of me, but over its treatment of Griffith, von Sternberg, von Stroheim, Buster Keaton and a hundred others.
Orson Welles

Movie directing is the perfect refuge for the mediocre.
Orson Welles

I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts.
Orson Welles

If there hadn't been women we'd still be squatting in a cave eating raw meat, because we made civilization in order to impress our girl friends. And they tolerated it and let us go ahead and play with our toys.
Orson Welles

I hate it when people pray on the screen. It's not because I hate praying, but whenever I see an actor fold his hands and look up in the spotlight, I'm lost. There's only one other thing in the movies I hate as much, and that's sex. You just can't get in bed or pray to God and convince me on the screen.
Orson Welles

Keep Ted Turner and his damn crayons away from Citizen Kane!
Orson Welles; on movie colorization

For thirty years people have been asking me how I reconcile X with Y! The truthful answer is that I don't. Everything about me is a contradiction and so is everything about everybody else. We are made out of oppositions; we live between two poles. There is a philistine and an aesthete in all of us, and a murderer and a saint. You don't reconcile the poles. You just recognize them.
Orson Welles

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.
Orson Welles

People should cross themselves when they say his name.
Marlene Dietrich, on Orson Welles

I don't agree with anything.
Fabian Socialist/dramatist George Bernard Shaw, when asked on May 6, 1926 if he agreed with Sinclair Lewis's refusal of the Pulitzer Prize

I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein – because he had a weapons program.
USA President George W Bush; lying in remarks to reporters, May 6, 2003

Source: Bush Administration Officials' Lies about Iraq's Supposed Weapons of Mass Destruction in Their Own Words

May 6 is the 126^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127^th in leap years), with 239 days remaining.
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Feast day of St John at the Latin Gate

In his old age (95 CE), St John the Divine (or 'the Evangelist'; Apostle) was accused to the Emperor Domitian of being an atheist. Domitian sent him to Rome, where at the Porta Latina (Latin Gate), he had him put in boiling oil. Through a miracle, the torture did not kill him, or, so it is said, and a church in honour of the saint was built near the Latin Gate, at the spot where the miracle was said to have taken place. The tale is not Biblical although it had a long tradition.

This feast day, expunged from Roman Catholic calendar in 1960, commemorated the dedication of the Latin Gate church, and is first mentioned in the Sacramentary of Adrian I (772-95).

Domitian afterwards allegedly banished the saint to the Aegean Sea's Isle of Patmos, where he witnessed and worked among the criminals condemned to slave in the mines, had his visions that he documented in The Book of the Revelation (the last book of the Holy Bible, sometimes erroneously referred to as Revelations). There is, however, some dispute as to the authorship of this book, as well as of the Gospel.

"The disciple whom Jesus loved," John calls himself in his Gospel. He was the only apostle of Jesus who died a natural death, and he outlived all the others, dying at Ephesus aged 94, in 100 CE. However, because John was the youngest apostle, he is usually represented as young and handsome.

John was traditionally held to be the author of five books of the New Testament, including the Gospel of John, but many scholars dispute this. Catholic/Orthodox tradition says that, after the crucifixion, he and the Virgin Mary moved to Ephesus, where both lived until their deaths. Many Evangelical and other scholars question this, especially due to the advanced age which Mary would have reached by this time. Some believe, however, that there is support for the idea that John did go to Ephesus and from there wrote the three epistles sometimes attributed to him.

This St John's symbol in art is a cup with a winged serpent flying out of it. The story behind this symbolism is as follows: Aristodemos, a priest of the goddess Diana, challenged John to drink a cup of poison. John made the sign of the cross on the cup, whereupon Satan in the form of a dragon flew from it, and John drank the potion without harm. Another legend says that when John was en route to preach in Asia, his ship was wrecked in a storm and all but John were cast ashore. John was assumed dead, but 2 weeks later the waves cast him ashore alive at the feet of his disciple Prochoros. When he prayed in a temple of Artemis, the daughter of Zeus and Leto, fire from heaven killed 200 pagan men who worshipped the statue of that goddess, but when the remaining group begged for mercy, John raised the 200 from the dead; they all converted to Christianity and were baptised.

Saints, dragons and serpents in the Book of days    Images    Church of St John at the Latin Gate    More    More

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Festival of Delia, ancient Greece, Purification of Athens (May 5 - 6) Festivals in ancient Greece Egyptian day (dies egypticus, dies ægypticus or dies mala), unlucky day in Medieval Europe. ("But, notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord" was the associated saying.) Feast day of St Anna Rosa Gattorno Feast day of St Anthony Middleton Feast day of St Benedicta Feast day of St Edbert (Eadbert), Bishop of Lindisfarne, confessor Bishop of Lindisfarne for eleven years; successor to Saint Cuthbert. Feast day of St Edward Jones Feast day of St Eleuterus Feast day of St Evodius of Antioch Feast day of St Gerard of Lunel Feast day of St Heliodorus Feast day of St John Damascen (Damascene) (Lucken gowans (Globe flower), Trollius europaeus, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) Born at Damascus, about 676; died some time between 754 and 787. Feast day of St Justus St Justus (d. November 10, 627), by birth a Roman, was one of the missionaries who was sent to England, by Pope Gregory II, at the request of St Augustine of Canterbury in 601. More Feast day of St Lucius of Cyrene Feast day of St Petronax of Monte Cassino Feast day of St Protogenes of Syria Feast day of St Theodotus Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints Feast day of Eyvind Kelve Eyvind Kelve (c. 965 - May 6, 995), was a Norwegian pagan martyr, killed on orders of King Olav Tryggvason for refusing to give up his pagan beliefs. He was tortured and drowned. St George's Day, Eastern Orthodoxy (April 23 in the Western Church) Đurđevdan (Serbian), Gergyovden (Bulgarian), Giorgoba (Georgian) the most famous Serbian slava, the most celebrated name day in Bulgaria, and one of the two Giorgoba holidays in Georgia. St George is one of the most important Christian saints in Orthodox churches. This holiday is attached to the beginning of spring. Christian mythology holds that St George was a martyr who died for his faith. On icons, he is usually depicted as a man riding a horse and killing a dragon. In Serbian, St George is called Sveti Djordje. Đurđevdan is also a major holiday for Roma (Gypsies) from the former Yugoslavia, whether Orthodox or Muslim. Named 'Ederlezi' in Romany language, this holiday celebrates the return of springtime. To the Turks it is Hidrillez, the day on which Prophets Hızır ('the Green One') and Ilyas (Elijah) met with each other on the earth. People make their wishes on the night of May 5 and have a picnic during the daytime of May 6 in order to celebrate the arrival of summer and bounty. Saints, dragons and serpents in the Book of days Martyrs' Day, Lebanon Kurayami Matsuri (Darkness Festival), Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan (May 3 - 6) Humane Day, USA Araw ng Kagitingan, (Heroism Day), the Philippines First Thursday in May, The Procession of the Snake Catchers, Cocullo, Italy       1501 Pope Marcellus II (d. 1555) 1574 Pope Innocent X (d. 1655) 1758 Maximilian Robespierre (d. 1794), French revolutionary and instigator of The Terror after the French Revolution 1856 Sigmund Freud (d. 1939), psychiatrist, founder of psychoanalysis. Hogarth Press, Freud's publisher in England, was owned by Leonard and Virginia Woolf; Carl Jung, Freud's 'crown prince', broke with Freud over the latter's emphasis on sexuality as the dominant factor in unconscious motivation. Source: The Daily Bleed The Skeptic's Dictionary entry on 'Psychoanalysis' 1856 Robert Peary (d. 1920), American explorer, first person to reach the North Pole (1909) 1868 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918). (This is the Julian calendar date of his birth. Main entry is at May 18 to accord with the Gregorian calendar.) 1868 Gaston Leroux (d. 1927), writer 1871 Christian Morgenstern (d. 1914), author 1879 Bedrich Hrozny (d. 1952), Czech orientalist and linguist 1882 Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (d. 1951), heir of Kaiser Wilhelm II 1895 Rudolph Valentino (d. 1926), Italian-born American actor 1902 Max Ophüls (d. 1957), director 1904 Moshe Feldenkrais (d. 1984), founder of the Feldenkrais Method 1913 Douglas Stewart, poet, playwright and critic who helped establish an Australian national tradition through mythical re-creation of the past; born Eltham, New Zealand 1913 Stewart Granger, English film actor 1915 Orson Welles (d. 1985), American actor, writer and director 1915 Theodore H White (d. 1986), writer 1920 Kamisese Mara (d. 2004), first Prime Minister of Fiji 1921 Erich Fried (d. 1988), author 1932 Alexander Thynne, 7th Marquess of Bath; English artist usually described by the press as "eccentric"; descendant of Thomas Thynne (1734-1796), the 1st Marquess of Bath, 3rd Viscount Weymouth; owner of the manor, Longleat, famous for its lion park 1937 Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, framed boxer 1945 Bob Seger, rock music singer 1945 Jimmie Dale Gilmore, musician 1947 Martha Nussbaum, philosopher 1953 Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1961 George Clooney, actor 1970 George Rivas, Texas 7 ringleader   Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send a free e-card greeting for today's celebrations to a loved one Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Senior Citizens' Day Varies Birthdays World Red Cross Day [ May 8 ] Nurses Day [ May 6 ] Varies Full Moon Day Varies Friday the 13th Varies Hindu holidays Varies Baisakhi Varies Mahavir Jayanti Varies Hanuman Jayanti Varies Arbor Day Varies Child Care Professionals Day Varies Wesak Day (Malaysia) Varies Buddha Purnima Varies Birthmothers' Day Varies Senior Citizens Day Varies Unmothers' Day Varies Mothers' Day   May 5 Cinco De Mayo 5 International Tuba Day 5 Halfway Point Of Spring 5 Chocolate Custard Day 5 Hoagie Day 5 International Midwives Day 6 Nurses Day 6 No Diet Day 6 Astronomy Day 6 Freud Day 6 Derby Day 7 School Day 8 Student Nurses Day 8 World Red Cross Day 8 V-E Day 9 Tear Tags Off Mattresses Day 10 Blood Pressure Day 10 School Nurse Day 10 Clean Up Your Room Day 10 Golden Spike Day 11 Minnesota Day 11 Chair Day 12 Kite Day 12 Limerick Day 12 Military Spouse Day 12 Receptionists Day 13 Frog Jumping Day 13 Tulip Day 13 Leprechaun Day 14 Motorcycle Riders Day 14 Stars And Stripes Forever Day 14 Dance Like A Chicken Day 14 Crazy Day 15 Butterfly Day 15 Flip Your Mattress Day 15 International Day Of Families 16 Clergy Day 17 Rubber Band Day   ... More Events Visit the Blogmanac, where today's Almanac is 'live' And I hope you will sign my GuestMap           If you are enjoying this page, click to receive similar items daily with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine Webmaster, webmasters free content, or else articles at very reasonable rates Pip Wilson's articles are available for your website or publication, on application. Further details   680 Death of Muawiyah I, Umayyad caliph.